An Introduction to Fleets [Brave Collective]

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====== An Introduction to Fleets ======

Many of you have never experienced a fleet before, and this can understandably make them a bit of an intimidating experience. To attempt to alleviate that a bit, here's a bit of information to give you an idea of what to expect when joining a fleet. 

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===== What To Expect =====

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Fleets tend to be fairly organized affairs, similar to raids in a game like WoW. However unlike in raids, most of the complexity of fleets is managed by the Fleet Commanders, and the skill/experience barriers to entry are pretty much nonexistent. **Almost all fleets in Brave are accessible to new players.** 

==== Initial Ping and Formup ====

All fleets start with a ping. This is simply a notification sent to a dedicated channel on Slack or Discord. A good ping usually includes at least the following information:

  * <text type="warning">**Fleet Name -**</text> The actual name of the fleet in the Fleet Finder.
  * <text type="warning">**FC -**</text> The fleet boss and/or commander running the fleet.
  * <text type="warning">**Voice Comms -**</text> The Mumble Server and Channel that the fleet is being run out of. A quick reminder that instructions to setup Mumble can be found on our [[public:alliance:it:communication-resources|Communication Resources]] page.
  * <text type="warning">**Ship Types -**</text> The doctrine being used for the fleet.
  * <text type="warning">**Location -**</text> The system the fleet is forming in.
  * <text type="warning">**SRP Level -**</text> This determines how much you'll receive as reimbursement if you lose your ship on the fleet. 

Most fleets offer plenty of time to finish up what you're doing, get in the right comms channel, burn or jump-clone to the formup location, and jump into a ship. **However if the ping includes a phrase like ''FLASHFORM'' or ''RAGEFORM'' things may be on a tight schedule giving you less time than normal to get into fleet.** During the formup period the FC will usually call out characters to be anchors; you'll want to add these to your watchlist for later in the fleet.

At some point the FC will call for everyone to Undock, and from there the fleet begins.

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**Example of a Ping**

//This ping format is a template from our Ping App, making it easy to send the required information quickly.//

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==== Travel and Anchoring ====

In most cases warping and taking gates are done in an organized manner, with callouts for each action. **To keep a fleet together you generally don't self-warp on fleets; instead the FC usually calls for the fleet to align somewhere and then initiates a Fleet-Warp so everyone lands at the same time.** Some common phrases you'll hear are:

  * <text type="success">**Align to X -**</text> This is usually accompanied by a broadcast. If you are close, the menu shows "Approach" instead.
  * <text type="success">**Gate is Red / Hold on the Gate -**</text> Do Not Jump through the gate until called for.
  * <text type="success">**Gates is Green / Take the Gate / Jump -**</text> Jump through the gate you're currently on. 
  * <text type="success">**Get on the Bridge -**</text> Keep at Range 1000m on the Bridging Titan. Do Not use a Prop-Mod. 
  * <text type="success">**Take the Bridge -**</text> Jump through the Titan Bridge by using Right Click -> Jump Through or the Top Option on the Radial Menu. 
  * <text type="success">**Free Burn to X -**</text> Self-Warp to make your way to X as quickly as possible. 
  * <text type="success">**Hold Gate Cloak -**</text> After jumping through a gate don't do anything to maintain your 60 second cloak until the FC gives a new order. 
  * <text type="success">**Prop-Mods On / Off -**</text> If your ship has a Microwarpdrive or Afterburner, this means turn it on or off.
  * <text type="success">**Burn Tacs -**</text> This order is commonly given to interceptors and fast-tackle. In these cases pick a random direction and burn your ship in it as fast as you can. This is to provide the fleet places to warp if needed.

**When the fleet gets into combat, the FC usually starts by calling for people to ''Anchor Up''; The default action for this order is to <text type="success">Keep At Range 1,000m</text> on the fleet's anchor**, but there are a couple other common versions of anchoring:

  * <text type="success">**Spread Out -**</text> This is the default action for T1 / T2 EWAR Frigates. Basically you want to stay as far away from the hostile fleet as possible while still keeping them in your EWAR range.
  * <text type="success">**Orbit 500m / 1000m / 1,500m -**</text> This is usually used in missile boats to maximize your transversal since your weapons aren't tracking based.
  * <text type="success">**Orbit 20km / 30km -**</text> This is used to avoid bomb damage in fleets especially susceptible to them. 

**Note For Logistics (Repping) Ships: Some fleets have a dedicated Logi-Anchor, when present these ships should anchor on it instead.**

==== Target Calling ====

**Targets are usually called out and broadcast one at a time by the FC**, so as to maximize the alpha and sustained damage on the target to break any enemy reps. 

**Some fleets also require synchronized fire, and in these cases the FC will call for each individual gun cycle so as to maximize alpha damage.** For situations where this is needed, the FC will usually ask for people to put a letter in fleet chat once their guns are cycled (ready to fire again), and then call a short countdown ending in "Fire" to signal when you should cycle your weapons.

**Which ammo type you use is important in a fleet engagement, make sure to listen for orders to <text type="success">Pre-Load X</text> or <text type="success">Reload X</text> to ensure you're always using the correct ammo type.**

The most common orders in relation to target calling are:

  * <text type="success">**Primary / Secondary / Tertiary Target -**</text> A set of targets to be locked and fired on in that order. These are almost always accompanied by broadcasts. 
  * <text type="success">**Lock (and Fire) -**</text> These are two separate commands (though often given together) used to coordinate fire on a specific target. 
  * <text type="success">**Free Fire -**</text> Fire-at-will on any hostile targets you can. 
  * <text type="success">**Sort By Name / Range -**</text> Sort hostiles on your overview by name A-Z or distance Closest-Farthest and fire on targets in that order.
  * <text type="success">**Haze Tackle -**</text> Free Fire on any hostile tackle ships in range. 
  * <text type="success">**Defang Drones / Fighters -**</text> Free Fire on any hostile drones or fighters in range. 

==== Broadcasting for Reps ====

Broadcasting for Reps tells our logistics that you're being attacked by the enemy fleet and that you need shield or armor to survive the fire. **The best time to broadcast for reps is when the enemy fleet starts mass-targeting (yellow-boxing) you.** This allows our logistics as much time as possible to lock you up and begin applying reps. **You can also generally broadcast for reps if your main tank (shield or armor depending on the doctrine) drops below 50%.** There are some situations in which you shouldn't broadcast for reps. For the most part this is to avoid overwhelming our logistics groups and ensure the ships that actually can be saved are. 

**You should NOT broadcast for reps in the following circumstances:**

  * <text type="warning">**The damage is primarily from bombs -**</text> The FC will usually call out a remaining percentage of shield or armor for people to begin requesting reps. 
  * <text type="warning">**You are in an EWAR Frigate -**</text> These ships just don't have the tank to survive direct fire long enough for reps to land. Your best bet is to bounce to a tac if you come under fire.
  * <text type="warning">**You are in a T1 Tackle Frigate -**</text> Same basic reason as above, however the FC may sometimes call for tackle to broadcast for reps when we're trying to hold something down.

===== Getting Reimbursement For Losses =====

To help everyone get back into the action as quickly as possible, Brave has a robust Ship Replacement Program (Also known as SRP). This is a program which reimburses you for all or part of your ship's value when it's lost during a fleet. For more information on this program and instructions on how to apply, check out our [[/member/alliance/programs/ship-replacement#how_does_srp_work|dedicated page on the subject]]!

===== Dojo Fleet Classes =====

If you'd like some guides and further information on fleets, here are some recent classes run by The Brave Dojo which may be of help:

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==== Fleet 101 ====

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==== Logistics ====

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==== EWAR ====

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{{tag>PvP Guide Intro All English}}